TRIGGER WARNING: MENSTRUATION, BROS.
Reposting my story from feministdykeslut.tumblr.com ’s ask box.
I started my first at my best friend’s house, right after I’d become vegetarian when I was 11. I thought it was a side effect of not eating meat! My friends mom helped me and shit, but when I got home my mom was convinced I’d been molested by my friend’s dad or brother, and wouldn’t believe me, then told me tampons were bad for me.. So I called my older sister and she was like “Don’t worry, mom didn’t tell me about periods before hand either.” because my mother is a bit afraid of everything.. She never gave me the talk, just a book when I started high school called “Sex? What’s that?” that said, and I quote: “It’s okay to have non-Christian friends, but your best friends should be christian.” Yeah.
submitted by: lanoyalandfall
sorry if this is too long.
when i was 13 me and my classmates were going to do the maypole at our school that year, which in itself is a coming of age ritual, and i came on the day of ready to dance. i was wearing all white and a flower garland on my head, and as i sat in the back of the car driving into my school, i looked down at my panties. they were bright red. i nearly started crying because i was terrified of the blood staining my dress. i ran into the bathroom and stuffed my underwear with toilet paper. the whole thing made me feel ashamed and awkward and uncomfortable. it wasn’t how i wanted to feel.
two weeks later, i went to the northern california womyn’s herbal symposium with my mom. it’s an all womyn herbal festival, where the womyn are celebrated and so are their bodies and cycles. every year a “maiden ceremony” takes place, where the group celebrates the transition of a young, newly bleeding girl into a womyn. i decided to take part in the ceremony. before it began, me and about 8 other girls met with the high priestess and talked about periods and our bodies. that was where i first learned, at the ripe age of 13, that the word cunt isn’t a bad word. the ceremony started.
we walked down through the camp, to where all the 300 or so women stood waiting. they were singing “we are here to tell you that you’re wonderful and beautiful, we are here to tell you, that we’re always whole. we are here to notice that your loving is a miracle, how deeply you’re connected to our soul.” they had formed a human passageway, and we went down under their arms, as these hundreds of womyn smiled down at us. we got to the center of the circle, and the high priestess began the ceremony. to each of us she cut off a bit of our hair, gave us a red moon necklace, painted a red moon on our forehead, and embraced us.
once the ceremony was over, i walked up the hill to my mom, crying quietly because i was happy that i was bleeding.
submitted by: rebel-grrrl
I was 11 years old, the summer I was going into 5th grade. I was at my dad’s house in the bathroom when I noticed I had brown stuff in my underwear. I didn’t feel anything happen but assumed I had my period, since I would’ve felt it if I pooped my pants… I called my friend on the phone and told her I just got my period. She still didn’t have hers and asked me what it was like. I just told her it was brown and didn’t feel like anything, haha. Then I went to my dad and told him I just got my period.. he didn’t really know what to do. It was about 11 at night and he told me we should go get pads at stop and shop. He didn’t know what to get and they ended up being super large pads, they didn’t even fit in my underwear. It was pretty funny. When I told my mom she told me she got it just as early as I did. It never seemed like a big deal to me until people made it seem so gross in middle school. I would never mention it to people if I had it, but now I don’t care and basically tell anyone if I have my period. Also my cramps got much worse as I got older, and.. it’s not all “brown stuff” anymore.. Haha
submitted by: thepeachtrees
I’m a twin, and my sister got hers first, a few weeks before. I just remember sitting in my bathroom upset because I didn’t know how to put a tampon in and it was really embarrassing but my mum and my sister were outside the door telling me what to do and being helpful and lovely.
Then, later that week, my mum took us both out for literally the most expensive meal I have ever had ever in some super posh French restaurant, to celebrate this whole new part of our lives. It was lovely.
submitted by: uswhoresdontneedyou
So,i was 12 years old.I knew what periods were,but i thought i wouldn’t get them until i was 15.i was terrified at the thought of bleeding out of my vagina,because i though everyone would be able to notice.As it turns out,during my twelfth year,me and my mother used to visit my aunt alot,who has 7 chihuahuas,who are all like my babies.One afternoon as we were all sitting outside on her porch,i felt something slippery in between my legs.i figured it was just discharge,so i ignored it.but then more and more started to pour.it felt like there was a faucet turning on and off inside of me.i got scared at that point,and stood up.well when they dogs smelled the blood,they all ran up to me and started sniffing and snapping and barking at my crotch.i started screaming,and i ran,which set them off even more.my aunt told me to calm down and she asked me if i had started my period,and i said no.but sure enough when i went to check myself in the bathroom,the entire crotch area had been soaked in dark brown blood,and there were chunks of uterine lining in my underpants.i fainted.and i am so embarrassed of my first period,that whenever people ask me bout it,i simply tell them i was taking a bath and that i saw clouds of blood emerging from in between my legs.
submitted by: the-feminist-librarian
I was twelve. I remember going to the bathroom one night before bed and I looked down, and saw a little bit of red. I found a pad in the cupboard under the sink and went to bed. I didn’t bring it up to my mom at all that I started my period. I didn’t want her or anyone to make a big deal of it. I remember the next day my mom asked me if I had started my period, since she had noticed the empty packaging in the garbage and I was so embarrassed to talk about it. I’m not embarrassed anymore, now I embrace it because it’s a beautiful thing and I love that my body is healthy enough to do this great thing every month.
submitted by holysith
Mine was quite boring. It was the start of grade seven. I was going to the bathroom before leaving the house for school. I noticed some blood. My mom knocked on the bathroom door to say goodbye as she was leaving for work. I’m not sure what I did, I think there were pads in the bathroom waiting for when I did get it, I don’t remember just using toilet paper.. I told my mom that night that I had gotten it. nbd.
submitted by feministbeauty
in eighth grade every morning in georgia history class we would stand to say the pledge of allegiance and sing “proud to be an american.” we wore uniforms of khaki pants and burgundy shirts.
one morning, after the pledge was over and we had started singing the first few lines of the song, i could hear my best friend who sat in the desk behind me sing close to my ear, “cause the flag still stands for freedom, and there’s blood on your paaaaaaants!”
during the explosive chorus i instead imploded into my shoes. i wrapped a sweater around my waist in attempt to not bring attention to it. i knew it would come someday, but i still wanted to cry. after the morning announcements we went outside for the eighth grade photo, where i had to stand in the row right in front of the awkwardly tall boys while the photographer fumbled with the camera.
mortifying.
submitted by flippingpirhouettes
tw: menstruation
Alright, so I was 12 and in 7th grade. Middle School was horrid.
One day, I got these god awful cramps. I seriously thought I was going to poop my pants or something. I was mortified. I ran to the bathroom, looked, and saw the dried blood (I thought it was something else). When I got home later, I told my mom and bawled and we went out and bought pads.
submitted by dobbaaa
Remember to put trigger warnings before your submissions!
tw: menstruation
I got my first period a little after I turned 12. I woke up one morning for school, and when I went to the bathroom there was blood on my underwear and in the toilet. My mom had never taken the time to talk to me about menstruation or sex or my vagina or ANYTHING, but luckily I have 5 older sisters, and they took care of that :) Thanks to them I was anticipating my period and when it finally happened I knew exactly what was up. So I just approached my mom nonchalantly and said “I need a pad please”. She looked at me kind of wide eyed and laughed. I didn’t tell my dad myself until I was about 15 and needed him to pick me up some pads while he was out, although my mom must’ve told him. I guess at that age I was mortified about talking to my dad about “girl stuff”.
It’s funny, I remember that this was around the time me and my friends were reading and loving Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret :)
submitted by vanillaandlavender
tw: menstruation
It was my last day of sixth grade and of elementary school. We got out of school earlier than usual and so I went with a bunch of my friends to Disneyland for the day. I was in the bathroom at Disneyland when I noticed some blood spotting in my underwear. My stomach dropped and I was terrified. I didn’t say anything to anyone, but just put toilet paper in my underwear and went about my business. It wasn’t heavy or anything so I figured I’d be fine until I got home. I think I sort of didn’t believe I was getting my period.
The next day I was still bleeding, so I called my mom into my room.
“Mom,” I said, “I think I got my period.”
My mom jumped for joy and started screaming and started explaining to me all about pads and tampons and other joyous things.
I was twelve and I felt like a woman.
submitted by mouthygrrrl